RedBlack and Yellow
by DarkKnight62892
Summary: A crossover fanfic taking place after the events of Arkham Knight. As Harley Quinn has given up her life of crime and adopted a new lifestyle a stranger with a bowler hat comes along to get her back in the crime life... and things will take a change for the better or worse. Will include Yang x Harley and perhaps a few other crossover couples
1. Re-inventing madness

It had been nearly a year since that last Halloween night. The night that Scarecrow revealed to the world who the Batman was but still got stopped by sheer will force of the Bat himself, or perhaps by Bruce Wayne since it no longer mattered if you called him that anyway. He was gone and would never come back. Life slowly began to settle in Gotham City as the first few criminals did seek to break out but right away got their asses send back to jail.

After a few weeks life started to slowly become normal again in Gotham City. Sure, the worst criminals still pretended they owned the streets but without Batman around they slowly also saw their need for superiority in the city wane. Some carved out a piece of the city for their selves, others abandoned the city or took up a normal life. More criminals were rehabilitated and those that didn't were found usually in an alley gibbering madness about a bat demon.

Harley just as much lost really the need to continue crime. What good was it now for her? Only two of her friends remained and only one of them wasn't gibbering madness about a bat demon that wanted to kill him. Still, she had lost too much in that one night. Ivy had decided to follow with Batman in his final moments and thus had signed up for death. All that remained of her was a flower that Harley had dug out from the garden house and put into a pot standing in her room. As long as part of Ivy was around… it was something…

Then there was Joker. The entire night that she had tried on getting not one, not two but four Jokers out from their prison and it only ended with the four getting killed because of that dumb old man suddenly thinking Joker was inside Bman. As if, that was just the most stupid and idiotic thing she could have heard that night. Only minutes after that she was apprehended by Batman and Robin and locked up. Scarecrow did offer to free her when he saw her when he came to kidnap Robin but she declined. There was simply no goal for her to pursue but she would enjoy seeing him destroy Batman.

And whilst he didn't technically destroy him, she did enjoy the show he put up. The finale however would need work because it was just an anti-climax. She hoped that he had instead killed him but no, he needed to gloat again. Why were all those villains the same? Joker, Scarecrow, Two-Face, and Penguin… all just needed to gloat and not pull the damn trigger and just kill the Bat. It wasn't that hard to do… well, it was otherwise he would have been dead already.

Now, she had lost her purpose in life. She had disbanded the entire Joker gang, though most had already left to join with Penguin, Two-Face or they just left town to live their lives elsewhere. She however decided to stick around Gotham to rebuild a new life. She did want to leave but still, something always drew her back to the place anyway. Like a moth being drawn to a flame. You know it's deadly but you can't stay away from it.

Selina had been quite helpful with getting her new life started out. The first thing they did was to get a new apartment and cleared out the Joker junk that Harley still carried around. Second was to split tasks fair and square in two. Selina would do the robbing, Harley would do the usual things around the house. Or at least try to. Because when you're used to causing mayhem and chaos you don't clean up afterwards.

Even so, she now sat alone in her new apartment waiting for Selina to come back home. She waited patiently as she drummed her fingers on the desk of the table. She already did groceries and brought Crane a few get well soon flowers as he was still recovering. He seemed to look better. If only they could also fix his face to what it used to be. Well, crying over spilt milk, there was no return from that night anyway. It was better to try and move on.

There was a knock on the door that startled her. Was that Selina? It seemed rather illogical as she usually came in and out from the window when she was going out for the night and they didn't get that many visits from anyone, except from the milkman perhaps. Harley wondered if she had ordered anything or if Selina had ordered something for the night. But she had wanted to make pancakes for dinner so… it all made no sense.

As she opened the door she raised an eyebrow at the man that stood before her. He was dressed rather formally in a white coat and with his weird black bowler hat. Was he one of Penguin's goons come to try and kill her because one time she had called the little guy an ugly eyesore… or perhaps because she nearly blew him up with a pie in his face. The little guy never was one to let grudges go as she sighed and already wished she had taken the large kitchen knife with her.

"Good evening miss… Quinn I take it is?" the man said as he tipped his hat up slightly and smiled at her as Harley looked him up from top to bottom. If he was an assassin than were was his weapon? No sword, no gun, no wrench, no exploding pies… nothing, he had absolutely no weapons on him. "Yeah… though it's Harleen Quinzel, I don't do the entire Quinn thing anymore." she said as she stepped back as the man calmly walked in.

"Ah, that's a shame. Really it is." he began in a smooth talking voice that just reminded her a bit too much about Joker. Maybe this was like a loser half cousin that wanted to continue his work here. "I have been looking for you because everyone else either wants to rip me in half or wants to shoot me in my head." he said as Harley gave a slight chuckle. "Yeah, don't be that surprised. This is Gotham after all. If you had the old me, she would have rubbed a whoopee cushion in your face… and it would have exploded.

The man gave a very convincing fake laugh as he walked up to her. "Hysterical." he said in a voice that indicated the exact opposite. "But that means I did come at a right time. A time where someone new can give you a new purpose in life." he said with a smile as Harley looked at him. She now noticed that the guy had been wearing mascara on his face. Well, this one was one for the loony bin as well. That much was already indicated by his appearance.

"I'm already working to a new purpose, thank you very much, now get out of my living room whilst you can still walk or I will crack your knees and drag you outside and kick off the stairs as well!" Harley said next as the man gave another small laugh before shaking his head. "Really now… are you enjoying this new life style then? Are you enjoying spending day after day in this old decrepit apartment? Something in me tells the exact opposite is true."

Harley had to give the man some credit. He wasn't wrong, she was indeed rather tired of this entire mundane existence. Even if Selina tried her best and always came back home and they watched Tom and Jerry cartoons together and she laughed at the expense of her best friend… she still hated this lifestyle. She hated being this locked up again, thrown back into the mundane existence of life. Her other self screamed for release and she was all too happy to once more let everything go and let tomorrow be tomorrow again instead of planning for the entire next week.

"You're not wrong there pretty boy." she said with a smile slowly creeping back on her face. "I did forget what it was like to live the life of crime… but I only lived it because he told me so…" she quickly said to correct herself as the man wagged his finger at her. "Wrong there girl, you lived it because you enjoyed it. Even without him you pulled off some very nice heists I have to say. Your resume was very promising." he said as this caught Harley's full attention.

"RESUME?! I NEVER PUT UP A RESUME!" she said as the man next laughed. "I was figuratively speaking. I meant all the nice articles this newspaper has been publishing over the past five years or so. You got quite the fearsome reputation on your own." he said as he kept complimenting her. Harley felt it was wrong… and at the same time it felt very right. She wanted to be feared and she wanted to have fun and let her mind go and not having to think about everything again.

"I'm here to offer you a deal Miss Quinn." the man continued as she next shook her head again. "I told you its QUINZEL and I don't take any offer from random strangers!" she said once more trying her hardest to keep that part that was truly Harley locked up again. It was waiting to burst out and get behind the controls in her head and this man knew exactly what buttons he needed to press. Just like Joker did one time. The only difference was that she wasn't enjoying it this time. Not one bit.

"Oh pardon the rudeness." the man said as he lit up a cigar and smiled. "I'm Roman Torchwick, you might have heard my name being dropped as the fearsome criminal that keeps Vale from being the safe happy kingdom it so desperately wants to be." he said as he stood triumphantly. "What's a Vale?" Harley asked right away as Roman slumped and shook his head. "It's a… never mind, I am looking to expand my criminal empire. Going beyond Vale and Gotham seems like a nice starting place now that crime is slowly dropping like a fly on a hot day."

"So you need a sidekick or something?" Harley asked sarcastically. She hated to become yet another sidekick to someone again and then for her partner to take that word all too real and kick her sides when she wasn't looking. "Oh no, I got my own sidekick right here with me. She's probably off watching animals in the zoo or killing lovebirds for fun…" he said casually as he smiled at her. "I'm offering you a job as my official partner in crime for this place here."

"Wait… official partner, as in not having to be below you but alongside you?" Harley asked as her eyes sparked suddenly. Some of her old self was now clawing hastily back to the surface. It was a golden opportunity that she could take as she bit her lip now. Should she take it, should she just run off again with some nutjob and cause panic around the city again? "Can I just have a minute to consider Mr. R?"

"Course, course, do consider fast, I got places to go, fortunes to gather, a name to be made and an empire to make." Roman said as he twirled his cane in his hand and walked out. That went better than he had expected. Clearly the girl was still in some sort of post-traumatic state and just pulling a few strings would get her back on the right track. That was of course his track. He would need to play it careful though. This one was not going to fall in line like Neo. If he promised her a place as his partner, he needed to keep that word.

Harley meanwhile was thinking it all over again. A chance to strike out again… a chance to get back and reclaim that part of her that she thought died with the remaining Jokers. It was a bit of a shock honestly that this man wanted her of all people as his partner. Wasn't he better off working with someone like Penguin or Two-Face? Then again, those guys weren't team players again. The only reason they would work together would be because someone told them to play nice for one night.

It felt a bit like old times but then without the need for romance. This guy wasn't interested in winning over Harley's heart or stringing her like a puppet with false feelings or feelings that were denied at the very best. It was sort of a plus when she would be called names or something like that. Though he seemed to be honest that he was a dishonest guy and those you could always trust to be dishonest again.

Still, part of her pulled her back and wanted to keep her out of trouble. We been building up an entire new life, why would you want to throw that all away? Why did you want to hurt Selina's feelings just for a chance to become someone hated and feared in Gotham again? Was it all worth it? Those questions circled in Harley's mind as slowly her other self came up. Do we need an answer to those questions? Can't we just put them in a toilet and flush them all away like before?

That very last one was just what pulled Harley back as a large smile stretched out over her face. Running to her own bedroom she pulled out the last costume she had used, the costume that she wore that night. Grabbing her bat, a gun, her jack in the box and a roll of serpentine used to wrap someone up in she grinned. She had missed all of this. She had promised Selina that she would burn all of this old stuff but when push came to shove… she found herself unable to do so. It was all part of her after all.

With a grin she tied her hair back in two ponytails, threw her bed over and started to laugh. Laugh as she hadn't done in a while as she grinned. Putting her gadgets away she stepped out of the room to get her make up done. Quickly she rushed over to powder her face until it was once more nearly white. Using her lipstick she painted over her lips to get another perfect happy smile as she smirked and smacked them together. The last thing she did was painting her hair with black and red bits on the ends of her ponytails.

So much for Harleen Quinzel again, she could keep that boring life she so desperately wanted. Harley wanted to live the life of danger and happiness, of champagne and burning money over a fireplace, of puppies and kicking people's dirty asses. That was who she truly was and who she wanted to be. Once more tucking the part of her old self far away and locking it away she grinned as she next kicked the door open where a startled Roman Torchwick stood as he next smiled.

"Well, that looks much better if I may say so." he said with a smile as he looked at his cigar and grinned. "And just in time Harls." he said as he dropped the cigar and grinned at her before using his cane to put it out. "I'm a girl of the clock… meaning I will use that to kill people as well." Harley said with a laugh before throwing her arms up. "Come on Mr. R! This girl wants to have fun out in the town!" she said with a smile hoping that he was up for that.

"Alright, alright calm down Harls." Roman said as he grinned. She sure had the same enthusiasm as Neo. That wouldn't be too hard to work around with. The only problem was that this one could talk and thus talk against him. Well, that was a problem he could work around again. Cater a bit to her needs, work a bit with her feelings and such… he just needed to make sure he wasn't going to care about this one as well like he already did with Neo.

As the two walked out Harley giggled as she randomly smashed parts of the stairs and windows that they passed giving into her old needs of violence and just having fun. Roman didn't mind it at all. He didn't even look back as she was smashing windows or the banister behind him. She was just enjoying herself so much. It felt like so much needed anger and hatred was actually coming out along with it. Anger for Batman for having ruined her once… but now she was going to reclaim it all with this guy.

Slapping him on his back she grinned at him. "So… where do we start?" she asked as Roman thought it all over. Neo was probably still busy and they might need to start with something so that the criminals in town would be on high alert from all of them right away. "Well… what is a good place to start off as a beginning criminal?" he asked as Harley thought it over as she grinned and nodded at him. "I knew right the place you want to go. You got a ride?" she asked as he sighed. "My ride… is not what you use to travel the streets with regularly."

So he didn't have a car… that was a pretty big shame at the very least. Well, they would get a car then. "Alright, leave it to me… already." Harley said with a grin as she looked at the street where cars were driving along as she decided to just walk up and stop right in place of one car. It screeched to a halt as the driver right away opened the window to lean out from it. "HEY, YOU GOT A DEATH WISH LADY?!" he roared at her as Harley smiled as she slowly walked up to him and next her bat came crashing down on his head. "Nope, but I made yours come true like a good little fairy!"

Torchwick grinned as he laughed at the very joke. It had something funny to it as he walked up twirling his cane as Harley dragged the driver out of his car and dropped him right on the street as the next car screeched to a halt behind them and began blaring his horn. "KEEP YOUR PANTS ON, I'M BUSY OVER HERE!" Harley yelled back as Roman just took the seat next to the driver as he adjusted the seat so it was just right.

Once she had rolled the guy out from his car, Harley hopped into the driver seat as she next smashed her foot onto the gas pedal as they speeded off into the night. Harley roared with laughter as Roman actually held onto his hat and grew slightly paler as he looked at the woman behind the wheel. Just what was going on as she was driving around and speeding by cars? Did she have a death wish or was defying dead really just what she wanted? Well, he wasn't going to complain about that… but he did like to be alive at the end of the ride.

As they speeded along they narrowly avoided a few crashes, flew over speed bumps so that the car was really launched into the air, but the worst was probably when Harley started to use one hand to knock side mirrors off from other cars with her bat. Roman just stared at how completely batshit insane this woman suddenly had become. A far cry from the woman he just met a few minutes ago. It was something to see her all roaring and raging like this.

Before long Harley nearly slammed the car into an open parking space that was near the Iceberg Lounge… or what remained of it in some way. It had taken a while before the section of the city that was once Arkham City was restored to its former glory. The museum had to be completely remodeled and the Iceberg Lounge along with it. It took a lot of money from the small guy to actually rebuild nearly the entire thing back to how it once was.

The Lounge nowadays was a place where thieves would hang out, looking for a job with Penguin or just relax for a bit. Its glory days when it met the prestige and famous people of the city were a far cry now. Penguin himself usually walked around the lounge as well, looking for new people to gain control over the city once more. The days after Halloween had been just as rough for him but the small fry just didn't want to quit his criminal empire.

As he had been going through quite a trial and rebuilding the entire museum from near scrap he had lost a great deal of money. Through his usual crooked ways he saw it slowly coming back to him and thus had begun to invest and expand again trying to rebuild what was once his. But it would never be as big as it might have been. Not that he cared, it would be enough for now. With the Bat out of the picture there were only a few people left to truly challenge him.

But his newest challenger just stepped out of the car, a bit shaken but overall delighted to have the ground under his two feet again. "Thanks for the ride Harls… but please never drive again." he said as he knew he still needed her to drive him back home. "So… what kind of pompous crime lord makes his living around here?" he asked as he decided to light a new cigar only to find that Harley was playing with his lighter.

"Oh some small fry that calls himself the Penguin. Thinks he owns the entire city but nowadays all that you see is what he truly owns. Some street thugs and low life hang out around him hoping that he will get them back in shape but I don't see it happening with birdie over there." she said with a grin as she handed the lighter back to him as he now lit his cigar in an irritated way before forcing himself to smile again at Harley. You'll still need her. Just play nice for now.

As the two stepped in it was Harley that kicked open the door before holding it open graciously for Roman as he tipped his hat at her with a slight grin. "Oi, what's this then?" a scraggly voice sounded as the thugs looked up at the two newcomers that just stepped into the club. "Well, well, if it ain't Joker's little bitch again. How's life been doing for ya Harley?" Penguin asked as he slowly walked up to the two with a delighted grin.

"Ozzie! You still have that piece of glass in your eye." Harley yelled with a grin as right away Penguin's smile faded. "Oh bugger off bitch." he said right away before looking at Roman Torchwick with a disgusted look. "And take yer new boyfriend with ya. I don't need yer stinking lot around the place." he said as Roman looked rather displeased at hearing him being called Harley's boyfriend. The feeling with her was mutual just as much.

"Excuse me shrimpie." Roman said as he walked up to Penguin and looked down at him. "For the record, she's not my girlfriend… no offense Harls but you're just not my type." he said as Harley smiled. "Same here Mr. R!" she said as she looked hoping that Roman was going to hit that ugly mug of Penguin. "And secondly, I don't wish to be addressed as just a common street thug or whatever you view below you small fry!" Roman continued as his eyes narrowed at the man.

Already some of Penguins men got up as they looked at Roman before the small guy started to laugh at the insults thrown at him. "Seems like you don't know me… well, we just 'ave to make sure you don't forget me then." he said as already his thugs began circling around the two as Harley readied for combat. It wasn't going to come that far as once more the doors were kicked open, and surprisingly by another blonde that stepped into the room.

"OI! This ain't a bloody playground fer girls!" Penguin said as the blonde had a devious smirk on her face as she walked straight past everyone and up to the counter. "Can I get a Sunrise? With a tiny umbrella?" she asked with a smile as the barman just raised an eyebrow at the woman that just entered. "OI, I SAID SOMETHING YOU BLEEDING WENCH!" Penguin said as Roman and Harley looked at one another just as confused as what was going on.

"Yeah, we were having a conversation here! It's very rude to get into that." Harley said now as well as the blonde turned around, her amethyst eyes sparking with something that was much like Harley's own eyes. Something very mischievous that Harley could admire about her. "Aw, I'm sorry. I didn't want to interrupt playtime." she said as she grinned looking at the entire assembly of thugs and the three individuals that stood out from the others.

"You got a name blondie or do you just want to keep us all in the dark?" Roman asked as the girl grinned. "Well, if you get a bit closer here I will tell you." she said as one of the thugs took the bait and slowly walked up to her as she leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "I start the party with a YANG!" she yelled the last bit in his ear before he was suddenly slammed in his face and punched right out of the lounge through the glass roof.

"ALRIGHT NOW, YOU GOT A FIGHT ON YOUR HANDS!" Penguin yelled before stepping back as his goons came now to rush at the girl. She didn't even phase once as the bracelets around her wrists turned now into gauntlets before she punched another guy right in his face. Another one got right away clobbered onto his chest before three tried to rush at her at once. Slamming her fists together she smirked as sparks of fire flared off from her right away. To Harley it felt as if she was on fire herself.

Before long all thugs that Penguin had send out to kill the girl lay at her feet, either out of conscious or wailing in pain from the punches she packed as she just gave a confident smirk. Penguin's own cigar dropped out of his mouth as both Roman and Harley looked at each other. If one option just straight out failed it was time for another one to step up and take the punch as Harley smirked twirling her bat in her hand. "Up on the plate comes the true challenger… and I'll wipe the floor with that smirk of yours." she said with a big smile on hers not noticing that Roman decided it was better he would leave.

Yang grinned seeing the cheerful girl striding up to her as she looked right into her eyes seeing a same spark of fun and cheerfulness that she had carried around before deciding to just start a fight around here. "So, what's your name, Jestro or Clownie or Joker?" she asked as Harley right away frowned a bit at hearing that last name before shrugging it off. "No silly, my name is Harley Quinn, though you may call me Harley since everyone does it."

"Really, cause the short one didn't call you that." Yang said as she crossed her arms as the two stood against each other as Harley grinned. "Oh, he doesn't like people that are clowning around… but I bring tonight a three ring circus… all filled with SUFFERING!" Harley yelled before rushing forward and slamming her bat right into Yang's face. The girl was actually still thinking about the joke as she shook her head from the hit and grinned. "Heh… well, that's a cute PUNch." she said before her own hand rocketed into Harley's stomach.

Wanting to thank her for the initial compliment Harley saw that she was suddenly flying back as she started to skid and came to a stop near the door. Checking if her stomach was ok, she stood up again as she looked at Yang. "Wow… strong arm you got there. That deserves a gift from me." she said grabbing her Jack in the Box and threw it at Yang as the girl already geared to punch it. The resulting explosion covered Yang into the black smoke as Harley laughed. "Well, that sure was another… YANG!" she said before suddenly stopping as the very joke was finished by Yang.

Yang grinned as it seemed her very hair by now was flaring up as she pointed her arms backwards and with the force of her Ember Celica shoot her right at Harley. The clown girl was quicker though using her acrobatic moves this time to remain ahead of the flared up girl. As Yang tried now to punch Harley she instead kept on the defensive, dodging every punch she threw at her. "Sheesh, what are you? A super sayian?" she asked as Yang grew more annoyed by now from the constant dodging.

"I'm just someone looking for fun and kicking people like you out of clubs like this." Yang replied as her next punch hit home as Harley was once more send flying across the room this time hurtling around as she made a goofy holler scream before falling down on the floor. "Urgh… what do they feed kids these days?" Harley asked as she shook her head before looking up seeing Yang once more coming at her.

Harley held out her bat in front of her not even knowing that by now it was already bend and more or less broken as Yang stood in front of Harley, slowly bend down and looked at her. "Had enough already?" she asked as Harley looked back at her. "What? You're not going to knock me down or punch me out of the building?" Harley asked confused as she looked up as Yang gave a shrug. "Cause you're fun and probably not as bad as that short guy." she said before her eyes darted over seeing Penguin still cowering behind the bar where he had fled to as the fight had broken out.

"More so than that guy." she said as she grinned before giving Harley a punch on her back causing the girl to slam over nearly hitting the ground with her face. "Whoops, guess I wiped the floor with your smile." Yang said with a grin as Harley looked at Yang before starting to laugh at her. "Oh boy, this is such a nice cut from Bats or Birdboy or Bratgirl… someone that can actually properly joke." she said as the two started now to laugh together.

"Well, sorry for this." Harley said suddenly as she threw her confetti and strings at Yang tying the girl up before hitting her in the face with her bat again. "But I'm a bad guy, so I need to fight dirty." she said with a grin as to her amazement Yang still wasn't down… and even ripped right through the strings burning them up. "Well, I'm sorry too because now I have to punch you out of the building." she said as she was about to hit Harley before she held up her hand.

"What?" Yang asked as Harley leaned forward and quickly kissed her cheek. "Cause I had fun tonight and missed getting my ass kicked." she said with a grin as Yang shook her head with a smile before punching Harley out of the very building as she skidded once more across the street coming right to a stop at the feet of Roman who looked down at the girl who smiled at him, now missing at least one tooth. "I think I need a dentist… and a doctor." she said as he helped her up.

"You think you can actually drive in this condition?" Roman asked as he was only concerned about making a getaway as by now police sirens could be heard that were making their way towards them. "Don't worry one little minute about it Lampwick… My nugging is still intact!" Harley said cheerfully as she nearly dropped out if Roman didn't catch her again. "I don't think driving with you is the best idea for now. I'll drive instead." he said with a slight grin.

"Sure thing... Mr. R." she said as next slowly walked over to the car as Roman jumped into the driving seat as if he was an over eager boy and as soon as Harley sat down the car raced away through the night with two voices yelling in happiness and laughing all the way as they left the ruined Iceberg Lounge behind them. Things just got a lot more interesting in Gotham with these newcomers and Harley was already enjoying it a lot.


	2. Bikes, hammers and knives

Yang gave a sigh as she stepped outside the now ruined Iceberg Lounge. She had hoped for a better start honestly then this one. Asking that little tiny runt some information that just so had managed to slip into her hands thanks to her uncle, proved to be more useless then she had hoped for. Maybe because she came onto strong… or maybe because she just didn't want to wait her turn again. But she didn't consider herself at fault here at all.

No, the one at fault was the little goofball himself. Clearly he didn't know how to run a proper business or at least a proper club. Well, it was only the second best club she had smashed to pieces as she grinned to herself as memories of punching Junior through his own nightclub came back to her. Good times. Still, it had gotten her nowhere further in her own quest. The only thing she got out of it was sort of a new enemy that was hanging out with Torchwick.

She had recognized the scumbag right away when she saw him but paid him little heed. He knew well enough not to tackle someone like her, or at least not without the proper back-up for it. His new friend though clearly didn't get that memo. Even if she had no powers or super strength or defense… she had put up an admirable fight. Yang had to admit that at the very least and she didn't seem too unhappy about getting her ass kicked. As if she was sort of used to that.

And that she said she had fun with her… it sort of distracted Yang a bit. The girl was just so happy and cheerful during the entire fight… it felt like fighting herself. Well, a decreased and relying on gadgets self of her but still, someone that just wanted to have fun. Shame she was on the wrong side though. Yang already had a feeling she was going to see her again soon enough. For some reason, soon enough couldn't come quick enough.

It had been fun to spar with her. Sure, she was rude and probably had no good intentions… or Roman wasn't going to have good intentions with her… but still she enjoyed having that fight with her. If anything it had just been a nice little bit of time killer over the absolute waste of visiting this place again. That got her to return to her own thoughts again, that this whole visit to the nightclub was a waste of time.

Yang approached her Bumblebee as she leaned against it and gave a sigh. She could just as well hear the sirens already approaching and knew that they weren't going to believe a total stranger that she didn't intend to let things get out of hand like this. It was better to make sure she wasn't spotted for now. Staying more in the shadows, probably try her luck elsewhere. The city was flooded with nightclubs of varying degrees. Someone had to know… someone had to have seen her.

Yang pulled up her scroll to look at it with a small smile. She looked at a particular picture of a woman with a large mask on. Her dark raven hair waved in the wind as she clearly ran from something or someone. She sighed again as she put it away. This was why she was here. To see if her mom was indeed here… but so far there was no luck. No luck since she punched Junior out cold that was.

He wasn't able to put her on a right track which was a darn shame. She actually nearly would have given up all together and rolled into one of the academies back home if not for one last tip from her uncle who said that his sis went to a place that was always dark. To be fair, since getting here Yang hadn't seen the sun shining even once, even during the day. So the clue was clearly referring to this place. At least that was what she guessed.

It all now came down to finding someone that had seen her somewhere. Someone that was willing to tell her more about her mother. That was only if she was indeed here. Yang just went back and forth between willing to continue her search and giving up all together but her uncle had just set her on a trail and she didn't want to give up just yet again. Giving up was just too easy right now. It would feel like all this time she spend looking for her meant nothing and that was as far from the truth as could be.

She would just need to find the right person to talk to, that was all. As she prepared to put her helmet back on her head and put her sunglasses over her eyes, her scroll suddenly beeped as she decided to take a look at it and saw the smiling face of her kid sister. "Hey Ruby." she said cheerfully as she answered the phone. "How's my favorite sis in the whole world doing? You're not getting into trouble are you?"

"Hey, I never get into trouble. Trouble gets in my way." Yang said as she grinned. Ruby clearly was concerned. Last she had seen he, she was going to the academy instead of her. Well, as long as she had fun there. That was what mattered most to Yang right now. Truthfully she wanted to go back and be there for her little sister. She just felt really bad as she did her best to continue to smile and fake her good feeling for now.

"Don't worry about me. You just get your homework done and have fun over there. My little sister is going to be the best huntress of all of Vale." she said cheerfully as she laughed slightly. Ruby had just such a sweet dream, to be just like her own mom. Yang had supported her all the way up to this point where their roads had separated. "Alright, I miss you too. Love you too sis." she said now quickly as she hung up her scroll and tucked it away.

Hearing from Ruby might have been just what she needed as her smile crept back on her face. It just as much reminded her in a weird way of that girl. Red and black, what were the odds in that? A clad in red and black sister and one enemy… it all had something funny to Yang. As if someone had decided to play a joke of sorts on her. Well, it didn't matter. They were both fun in their own little way and Yang did hope in a strange way she would see that girl again. Just for the fun they had in beating each other up.

As she got on her bike she suddenly looked around. Looking up she looked at one of the many tall buildings that adorned the city as she gave a sigh. Apart from one large black bird there was no one. Still, she could have sworn that she was being watched. As if someone from the shadows was watching her… or was it just the bird that had been staring at her? Yang decided that for now she didn't care and shrugged it off as she drove her bike away into the night… looking for the next clue.

Yang's feeling however couldn't have been truer as from the shadows a young man looked up as he watched the girl drive away. "She really did a number on Cobblepot and Harley… should I follow her?" he asked as he was talking to someone over his earpiece. The reply was short and clear as he gave a nod. "Very well, I'll keep in touch with you." he said as he jumped and floated away following the girl on her motorbike.

Batman's disappearance had caused for a wide spread of crime reduction in certain cases. A lot of villains that had gone down the road of evil to search for the death of the end of the man had their goals fulfilled. Others simply lost their drive for chaos and mayhem that one long night gave them that Halloween and others again simply had other things to do. Certain big names however did stay and tried to rally as much support to them as possible.

Two-Face, Black Mask, Penguin… a few of the crime bosses that still tried desperately now to make Gotham their own. Without the Batman to stop them it seemed so much easier but the truth was that they had lost many men in response and with a new supposedly even more terrifying Batman out there… so many people had simply lost the guts to continue on what they were doing now. They had become truly scared of what new horrors lurked in Gotham.

Things weren't helped when on one night Black Mask was reportedly murdered by a new vigilante. Many of the gangsters now fortified themselves in special places of Gotham and didn't want to face that new danger head on. Instead, they handed out money for those who wanted to do the dirty deed themselves. It attracted bounty hunters like Deadshot and Deathstroke but they soon lost interest at the sheer open game of it all and rather operated on a contract base.

Several more rogues however had just hung up their mantle, not feeling any drive to continue. Freeze had left Gotham completely after having failed to save his wife and with his own suit damaged beyond repair… the two had set off on ship and never returned. Bane had mysteriously vanished and was never seen again and Riddler, after suffering a humiliating defeat had lost his biggest competitor and had to take enough that he could never prove he was indeed smarter than Batman.

The smaller evils however… they were much harder to take down. Killer Croc made the sewers under Gotham his home and terrorized on certain occasions many streets, be it to expand territory or to just hunt for fun. Lazlo Valentin kept making his so called 'perfections' as Pyg and in his own crazy disturbing way terrorized people again and in the shadows the psychopath known as Mad Hatter still kept his eyes open looking for his Alice to take with him to Wonderland.

Another killer that seemingly flourished with the disappearance from Batman was the psychotic killer known as Victor Zsasz. Zsasz had also missed out on the Halloween night and whilst never getting to carve the special place he had in mind for Batman… he had succeeded in getting even more new marks than ever before. Soon he was running even out of space and had to take one of his creations to continue his life work on.

Zsasz had to kill, it was something that was printed in his brain. He could never stop this urge after a tragic incident. Zsasz made that unfortunate trip to the Iceberg Lounge during its golden days and wanted to press his luck. His family fortune was on the line but it seemed though that he was indeed blessed with unparalleled luck. That was until he took a table with Penguin and in a rash decision put all of his money and all of his belongings on the line against the little cockroach.

Zsasz thought he had the best card ever in hand… thought he could beat this man… but sadly everything went downhill. Even in Penguin had cheated, Zsasz would have no luck to call the owner of the place a damn cheater. Soon enough he was thrown out of the club without a penny left to spend. As if fate wanted to torture him some more what else would he have ran into but a criminal asking him for his money.

In rage, the deranged man struck out against his robber and slashed him down. As he looked down a new insatiable feeling crept over him. A new purpose was given to him, a new life work on which to work on as he called it. In a mere minute he also carved a line in his own flesh… one down… and a lot more to go. That was back then, when the Batman was still around to stop him. But now he managed to stay under the radar for a while… whilst he still committed his gruesome murders.

Zsasz, like any good old fashioned psychopath, didn't consider he was a bad guy however. He was in fact giving these people what they needed in his mind… their true goal in life fulfilled. At the same time for some weird obscure reason he needed to also pose these people again as if they were mannequins of a sort. To many, this made no sense in the slightest but to Zsasz it was like creating a weird form of art. In one such case the Police found a family of five… all seated at a dinner table… as if they were indeed puppets themselves.

Zsasz was indeed right now busy working on his latest masterpiece. Having cut one such poor soul right under his throat, he was busy cleaning up the blood that had dripped out from it and was already thinking what new position he would give this man. Perhaps he would make drop him at a phone booth to trick people he wanted to get a call… or perhaps put him as one of the still many remaining homeless people out on the street. The choices in this case were endlessly.

As he was still contemplating in his own madness what he was about to do he suddenly jerked back to look at his window. He could have sworn someone… something out there had been looking at him. Slowly he turned his back again as he continued to clean the man's wound. So much blood… so much had come out from it. Like a pig that had been cut open… he stifled a giggle at that thought because the man had indeed been rather thick.

Once more he jerked his face towards the window. Was someone spying on him? He could have sworn he had heard something… something was outside there. Grabbing his knife he slowly inched his way towards the window as he remained wary of what could happen to him. "If there is anyone out there… I won't hesitate to gut you like a pig!" he said as he next opened the window with a jerk and looked around outside.

Nothing… there was simply nothing out there. 'Strange.' he thought to himself as he lowered the window again and sighed. 'Could have sworn there was something out there… maybe it is Batman… come back to help me finally give me that mark I so desire.' he thought to himself as a wide smile crept on his face. He once more stared outside of the window but nothing happened this time. There was simply nothing there.

Now however, there came a sound from the kitchen, or what might have been once a kitchen in the decrepit building. Zsasz right away got out from his thoughts and hurried towards the kitchen, his blade drawn as he sneered. Who-ever it was that was in there, it would be dead soon. Maybe he would then be able to make a couple on a bench once more… maybe this time in a romantic way. That got him slightly smirking again.

As he rushed into the kitchen, the knife drawn he looked around the place. Outside of an open window, there was still nothing. Zsasz looked around as he rushed over to the window and slammed this one shut as well. With a slight pant he just shook his head. Perhaps it was talking about Batman, that got him slightly paranoid again and it was beginning to annoy him. It was perhaps better to banish those thoughts and just finish his work.

As he next turned around to look back at where he had left his work, his eyes slowly widened. There was a girl there… not just any girl, one that looked rather peculiar. Her hair had not one or two but three colors and not even the best combination with black, brown and bright pink mixed together. She held onto what looked like a parasol as she was in fact checking out the dead body he had left on the table, curiously poking it as if it was some kind of toy.

"What do you think you're doing here little piggy?" Zsasz asked as he narrowed his eyes slowly walking up towards her as the girl looked up. She gave no response other than a small smile as she looked at him before looking back at the work of the deranged psychopath. "Like what you see huh?" Zsasz asked as he grinned. He couldn't use anyone to spy on his work… nor did he need someone to help him in it. His work was his alone and no one else and he certainly didn't need some snot nosed girl to help him with it.

He twirled his blade anxiously in his hand as he slowly walked up to the girl. He already knew where he was going to put his mark for her as he grinned madly. The girl was seemingly oblivious… or perhaps she didn't think of him as a threat… but why would she do that? Maybe she was just trying to vex him with faking her calm state. As he now was nearly next to her he raised his arm up, ready to plant his knife with enough force into her skull.

The girl was however faster as she simply moved her head with a small smile out of the way as the blade now rushed down and crashed into the table. Zsasz looked in surprise at the girl as she next smiled and opened her parasol as she turned around ready to leave. With a pull, Zsasz got his knife out from the table and rushed over to the girl swiping at her again. This time, as he hit her, she shattered as if he had just broken a piece of glass.

Zsasz just stood surprised as he wondered what had just happened. One minute the girl was there and next… well, he didn't want to think about it as he turned around… and next nearly jumped up in surprise as the girl now stood in front of him… and made a picture of him with what looked like to be a phone. Did she think this was funny? Did she think this was hilarious? Zsasz quickly collected himself and rushed now at the girl.

"DIE LITTLE PIG!" he screamed in anger as he made several swipes at the girl. Every swipe however she easily dodged as she didn't even sweat a little bit at this. Her smile only grew over the time as she pushed her parasol into his face causing the psychopath to back away again in surprise. The girl seemed to even be simply toying with him. It was beginning to vex him. As he rushed once more at her he pulled out another knife and screamed again in anger.

The first swipe of his knife she dodged, the next one she jumped out of the way, the third she jumped over him. As he tried to turn around she already grabbed his arm and threw him with surprising strength towards the ground. This wasn't really happening was it? He couldn't possibly be trumped by what looked like an insane school girl. He wouldn't allow his work to be ended here as he slowly got up rubbing some blood off his lip.

"You're a tough one… but I already made up my mind piggy. I will kill you… and I will get my mark!" he said in frustration as he now threw his knife at her as she once more jumped over it, now rushed at him and with a jump kick, hit him right on his jaw. Skidding over the floor, she grabbed his leg and next threw him into the air as he crashed into the ceiling and dropped down, crashing into the floor again, bones crushing in the process.

Zsasz coughed out blood as he looked around. Whilst he had been thrown by the girl into the air he had lost his knifes as he tried now to find them back. He wouldn't be getting that chance as the girl placed her heel onto his chest and smiled. Out from a hidden part of her parasol she pulled what looked like a sword as she grinned madly at him now, her eyes switching colors at the same time as she held it up to look at him.

As the blade speared through his chest, Zsasz felt only bad that he would never see his life work completed. He would never have been able to complete it without Batman but to go out in this way… it just saddened him as he felt his life slowly fading out of his body. He had such great ideas for this one last kill… it would never come to fruition. Still a smile stretched out over his face as he saw the irony at being killed by another psychopath… one that was just too strong for him again.

The girl pulled her blade out and cleaned it off with a happy smile. She didn't mind killing people, but she still had to keep her own stuff clean. She couldn't go back to Roman with her blade all messed up again. With a grin she skipped over to the window, put the blade back into the parasol and with a jump got out of the window. It would be hours before the police would arrive… and what they found would leave them with more questions than answers.

Harley still yelled happily even as blood dripped from her lip. Roman was driving around like a mad man… just the way she liked to drive around Gotham at night. Cars had to veer off the road as the two speeded passed by. To Harley there was no greater joy in the world, a memory of the good old times but now something that was happening once more. Having rolled open the window she had stuck half of herself out yelling at other cars and even trying to pry off side mirrors just for the fun of it all.

Roman on his part didn't really seem to mind her more suicidal needs in this way. He was after all now driving and things went far smoother… at least that was what he told himself. He had already made sure four other cars on the road had been smashed aside as they rode on by back to the sort of hide out he had made as long as he was going to be here. It was still a small way ahead as the two rode onward with several claxons blaring as they passed by.

"It's a shame we ain't got a rocket launcher here." Harley commented as she got back in her seat and rubbed some of the blood on her lips away. "I could really use it to clear the road ahead." she said as Roman simply smirked at her. "There's a time for chaos and a time to try and not pull too much attention to ourselves." he only commented as Harley wondered if that also worked if you went with 80 miles per hour through parts that were easily only 30 or 50 miles per hour.

"So… where are we going?" Harley asked curiously as she now pulled open the passenger mirror to clean her face up and inspect on some of the damage. "I hope it's a place that has fake teeth. I'm going to need one." she said as Roman smiled. "Well, it just so happens I might have a few things to help you… also considering your old bat didn't last that long…" he said as Harley held up the completely smashed in steel bat as she sighed sadly.

Why did the blonde girl needed to punch into it? Punching into her was one thing but this… this one had been with Harley for quite a while. It wasn't a giant hammer but it did the job quite well. It was more mobile and faster to carry around. Still, if Roman had a replacement for her she was going to get that one right away. It was better to get something that was still in one piece then something that was going to break apart if you even tapped it on a pillow.

"I got my own small ride parked in one of the many green zones of the city." he said as Harley scratched her head as he quickly clarified it. "Parks… it's parked in a park." he said as Harley quickly nodded. "Aaaaah… well, there are a few around here. You sure you know where it was?" she asked as Roman gave only a small smile. "Sure…" he said to her. To Harley it was clear that it was going to be sometime before they would arrive at the precise park.

Finally after having gone around three rounds and seen five different parks, the sixth one was finally the one as Roman jerked the car to a halt. Quickly he and Harley scampered out from it knowing that by now, the cops were once more hot on their trails. It was because they just so had to crash into the Commissioner's car as well and he wasn't all too pleased about it. Hopping out from it the two quickly ran into the park to make sure they would shake off the cops from their trail.

"Well, that was at least amusing. You crashed right head into Gordy's car! If only we ran hard enough to smash him into a pulp as well." Harley said as she and Roman now slowed down to a normal pace as they didn't hear anyone chasing after them. "Heh… well, I do love to make an appearance where ever I go. Where I came from I'm actually somewhat the ring master of the entire underworld. Nothing gets slipped past me and nothing gets done without my approval.

Harley gave a small smile as he said that. It just all reminded her of the old times. Being the sidekick of perhaps the biggest ring master of Gotham as he produced new shows every time to get the attention of the Batman. Her favorite was the one where he poisoned the waters just to get all the fish to smile. It had something cute to her to see all the fish with a big old grin on their faces and the money to roll in if they go the rights to those fishes…

Joker had called it a stupid idea afterwards but she still enjoyed it and sometimes still laughed at their sillier crimes. The ones that were more to tease Batman than to actually hurt people. Well, people always got hurt in their schemes and when she eventually ended up killing a few she just shrugged it off as worth it to make the joke all the more better. In recent days however her conscience had come bearing down on her and she was re-thinking a lot of her own mistakes and things she had done wrong.

Right now however that was something that had been pushed back far away as she smiled at Roman. "So… a real crime boss again. Well, Gotham's going to be a challenge for you if you want to take over the entire city." she said with a smile as Roman looked back with a grin. "Well, a challenge I'm well prepared for." he explained as he pulled back a branch as they made their way past a tree… behind the tree stood something that was akin to an aircraft but nothing like what Harley had seen before.

"OH MY GOD, IS IT A BIRD, A PLANE, A SUPERMAN?!" she yelled as she stared with big eyes at the entire thing as Roman gave a smirk. Now he had her just where he wanted… like if he had taken a kid to a candy store. "It's a Bullhead… and it just so happens to be my little stash as well." he said as he walked ahead now still smiling. If the girl was anything like what he had expected her to be… she would love what would come next.

Opening the Bullhead he revealed a giant amount of weapons, colored stones and even a small box that contained indeed fake teeth. Harley only wondered why he needed that… but then she reminded herself that he probably needed those if that blonde girl came from where he lived. And she just as much needed one badly or otherwise Selina was going to ask questions… not that she wasn't going to ask questions, but trying to keep those to a minimum was a good start for Harley.

Hurrying over, the girl first rushed in head first into the box with weapons. "OH MY GOD, ALL OF THESE ARE AMAZING!" she yelled as she held up a giant club like weapon and next produced what seemed to be a set of smaller guns. Dropping the two weapons she gasped as she next pulled out what seemed to be a hammer and held it in her hands. "I think I have fallen in love again." Harley said as she smiled at Roman with a genuine happy smile.

"Well, I can't have my partners running around empty handed… even if you might be able to get a good kick in there…" he said as he paused to light his cigar before continuing. "That girl you fought was just as well from the place I came from. Its better we give you something to be prepared for if we run into her again… and given my form of luck that might happen rather fast again." he said as he looked at Harley before walking over to help explain the weapon to her.

Harley's mind trailed off to the blonde girl again. Aside from smashing her bat to a near pulp she still didn't mind running into her again. Hopefully in a more fair way though as she didn't want to get beaten up again like this. Still… it was fun fighting her. She had a very happy smile during the entire fight as if she was having enough fun as well with it. The few punches Harley did pack into it had however not even made a single scratch on her… whilst she still missed one entire tooth and had probably a few broken bones to boot.

As Roman was busy explaining now how to use the gun mode on the hammer, her mind returned once more to listen to him as she had blocked out most of it that was glorifying him probably as he had stolen it from under the noses of some force called Atlus. It wasn't really interesting but learning that she could shoot with it as well… now this was truly her dream weapon. She smiled at Roman giving a nod that she had understood what he had said… well, most of it.

Aiming the weapon at a tree, Harley took aim and with a blast took off a branch from the tree as she smiled happily. "OH MY GOD, I LOVE THIS!" she once more exclaimed as Roman had to stifle a laugh as he looked at the girl. "Well, that will keep you happy for now." he said handing her the box with fake teeth as she quickly took it to put one in her mouth. She wasn't a dentist… but she just hoped she could fit in one rather quickly.

The pain from it would probably remain for a few days but she would smile it away. Cover it up with make-up and no one would find out it was just a fake tooth… by now she shifted to look at Roman with a smile as she got up to him and hugged him tightly much to his surprise. "Uhm… what are you doing?" he asked as he awkwardly stared at her. "This is how I thank my friends for giving me great gifts and a great night!" she said happily as Roman just stood there… getting more than enough of it.

"Alright, hugging time is over, please let me go in one piece again." he said as Harley quickly released him again with a grin as she gathered he wasn't a big fan of hugs. "Don't do that again please. It messes up my style." he said straightening his white coat and putting his hat back in place. "But… you're welcome." he said dropping his cigar on the floor as he looked out over the town. "This is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship." He remarked as Harley swung the hammer over her shoulder. She couldn't agree more with him.


	3. Disappointed cat

Roman was standing near the bullhead as he heard someone drop next of him. He just casually lit another cigar as he turned to look as he had expected her back for some time. "Took you long enough to get back here Neo." he said as he smirked walking up to her twirling his Melodic Cudgel around his finger as the girl simply smiled at him as with a blink of her eyes they changed colors and form.

"So… I hope you have made yourself useful tonight." Roman said as he walked into the bullhead with Neo following happily behind him. She had at least a fun night. That bald guy with all those scars on his body was fun to kill, especially since he did try to put up a fight. Yes, she had amused herself a lot but that did come at the expense of the mission Roman had set her out on, to find new allies to claim the criminal underworld of Gotham.

In truth Roman had grown bored with Vale over time. A Dust robbery here and a swindle there… it just grew a bit too mundane for him. One day, after they had assassinated and stolen some fancy pants car and smashed it into a wall, that Roman claimed came out of nowhere they were busy watching the Vale news. Whilst the news once more glorified him which fed his monstrous ego, it did report something more interesting.

Reporting on news outside of Remnant they confirmed that the Batman had in fact passed on. Or in a better way of speaking blew himself, his butler and his home up effectively removing himself from the chessboard. Roman knew of Gotham as an earlier report had notified that the greatest criminal from that place called the Joker had passed away a year earlier… and with his nemesis gone now, Roman smelled a chance.

It didn't take long for the two criminals to secure a Bullhead for the two of them, loading it with only the most needed of supplies… that were crates filled with Dust and weaponry that Roman deemed needed to bring Gotham to its knees. He was always up for expanding territory… but this also had something a bit more personal to it. Even after his death, people still referred to Joker as being the superior criminal master mind over everyone else.

That, of course, Roman couldn't stand anymore. Who was still alive and kicking? Who had full control over the criminal underworld of Vale? Who had evaded capture more times than a mouse in mousetrap? And who was exactly five feet under the ground pushing up daisies? Roman just needed to prove to the world that he was the best criminal master mind… and he knew now also where to prove it. With the Bat gone… Gotham was ready to be harvested.

"Well…" Roman said as he sat down on the captain seat of the bullhead. "Did you find anyone worth to help us out around here?" he asked as Neo put a finger to her lip as if to mimic she was thinking before shaking her head. "You… you killed someone didn't you?" Roman said next as he also sighed alongside that. He knew of her more murderous streak and her more sadistic side to inflict pain on others. Neo nodded her head excitedly as she confirmed his suspicions.

"Neo, as much as I appreciate your killing streak… I think I need to explain that we need allies in order to take over a city and if you kill said allies… well who is going to help us take over this cesspool?" he asked as Neo just gave him a confused look before he tossed his cigar on the ground again. "Never mind, I got at least in touch with a former colleague's partner. She was a bit out of style and perhaps slightly out of the game but when you push the right buttons you can get anyone back into it." he said as Neo now looked curious as to who he meant.

Taking out his scroll he looked through pictures, most of which were of him and Neo… and even more of that of only himself but finally he found a picture of Harley from her prime days. "Here… she doesn't look like that anymore. She ditched the jester look. Shame, I really liked that. It gave her a bit of a themed caper sense." Roman said as she grinned as Neo looked at the picture before her eyes changed color and she looked at him with a mad expression.

"Wow there little sprout, I only got back in touch with her… as in recruited her for the mission. If you think more things went down you're out of your mind." he said as Neo sat down staring intensely at Roman but when she noted that he didn't flinch or blink she knew he told the truth. "You know girls aren't my style at all, though that red color was sort of nice on her." Roman said as Neo shook her head and stared again at him.

"Oh yeah, more explaining time." Roman said as he sat back in his chair and pocketed his scroll away. "She's got info on everyone in this city crime involved, ranging from small time criminals to the big mafia bosses and gangsters." Roman explained as he smirked as Neo didn't look all that impressed but he still continued. "Having worked also under ghastly grinning face has toughened her up. She knows to hang in there."

Seeing Neo was still not impressed Roman sighed and got up from his chair. "What I meant is that we had one of those huntresses in training around here. You know how much one of those can pack a punch on regular none aura and semblance humans that walk around here. Still, she did hold out much longer than I had thought. I thought the first punch would have knocked her out." he said as by now Neo gave a silent nod finally understanding what he saw in the girl… but still not completely on board.

"Oh come on, what does it take you to get convinced this is a good idea? An ice cream?" Roman asked as Neo grinned at him and nodded causing him to sigh and face palm. "Why did I ask that?" he asked to himself as he shook his head and looked back at his accomplice. "We just need her help for now as much as she needs our help. She wants to get back into being a villain and we want this place for ourselves. She gets what she wants, we get what we want and we shake hands and go our ways at the end of the day." Roman said in a final bid to convince Neo.

As much as Neo didn't like to bring a stranger into their plans she knew that someone who had some understanding of how Gotham worked could be useful as she finally shrugged and gave a nod to give her approval for the plan. "Excellent. She did just leave with her new weapon to get used to it. In the mean time we got a list of possible threats or underlings to study." Roman said as he took out a list that Harley had left for him.

Harley's knowledge of Gotham's criminal underground was immense. In fact, Roman had a hard time believing she could store all that knowledge away as she had replied to him that she was smarter then she looked. Well, he had to give her that one at least. Roman decided it was best to start off with a criminal that wasn't associated with someone that could be a higher power in the city, a lower thug but yet powerful enough to remain on his own two feet.

"Let's see here… Great White Shark!" Roman announced as Neo just gave him a strange look as he just as much shrugged. "I guess even animals can be criminals around here as well. I hope they're at least not in league with the White Fang..." he said as he just shook his head. "You won't see me working along with those animals. Not in long shot." he said as he continued his look over the list and shook his head.

"Killermoth, Killercroc, Firefly? WHAT IS THIS, A ZOO?!" Roman cried out as he scanned through the list as he was tempted to just call Harley and already say everything off before he realized… that they might be just adopted criminal names. As it was as Harley did leave the name of one such criminal… under Firefly. "Garfield Lynns huh?" Roman said as he smiled before folding the list back up and looked at Neo who gave him a big grin. "Time to pay this mister Lynns a visit."

Harley was making her way back to her living space as she was whistling happy. Today had been a very good day for her. Finding herself back, having a first fight in some time, getting a new weapon that also functioned as a gun, back to cause mayhem and destruction in the city… yeah, things were looking up again. Still, in the back of her head there was the annoying screeching sound of her old self claiming they didn't need to do this again.

Harley's brain had always been a pretty big amusement park. A giant rollercoaster and several other rides all nicely tucked away inside her head. But after the Joker died, her old self started to re-emerge. It was however slowly and Harley kept pushing her back to remain in full control but knew well enough that she wasn't going to be able to keep that up for much longer. It's why she thought she needed Mr. J back in those days.

But during that Halloween night she lost her only chance of ever having one and gave up hope. Allowing her old self to get back in control she just wailed inside her own head wanting to find a way to get fun again. It only meant that Harley just lost herself even more to depression then before even as Selina did do her best to keep Harley cheerful and help her in her new life. Trying out her old job, Harley got fired because after a while old tendencies would kick in for sort of trying to smash her patients' heads in with differing objects.

It wasn't her fault that she wanted to bludgeon patients in for telling their small irritating sicknesses. The very final drop for her was that one guy that told her he was afraid of clowns. Who could in his right mind be afraid of clowns? Harley had decided that being a shrink again was just something that could never really be what she wanted again. So she next tried out as an amusement character. If she could have some face paint everything could be better right?

As it turned out when she started chasing kids for making fun of her, it didn't. Harley just decided that working wasn't going to work out for her anyway and resorted to leave Selina to getting in the money and goods they needed to survive and the homework for herself. That didn't work out most of the time as well mostly but at least Selina remained supportive and tried to help her out during most of the hard parts.

It reminded Harley again of Selina as she strolled up to the apartment complex after having smashed a few people in their face with her new hammer. What was she going to tell her? That she met some random guy that wanted her criminal part and she had decided to throw herself in with him not knowing what she got herself in? She probably had to try and put it better for her friend. Life hadn't been easy for her as well.

Harley knew very well that Selina had a slight crush on B-man and whilst she still hated his guts and didn't mind he had gone up in smoke and fire… she could understand the sadness and emptiness that Selina felt inside of her. That part when your significant other was gone and you knew there was nothing in the world you could do to bring him back… she understood very well, maybe even better than anyone else. It's why they had grown a lot closer over the past time.

Selina hadn't given up her path of crime. In fact she was still very busy and right at it when Harley met her again. Of course, Harley didn't mind that Selina kept true to her old ways. It was just too hard to let go of something you had been doing for quite a while. But even worse, Selina nearly didn't know any better. This had nearly always been her life. From her teen years up to where she was now, theft and burglaries were always part of this cat's life.

Harley knew that she could lose her hair but never her streaks. It was how Selina was and she had accepted it. She only wondered… would she accept Harley as she was right now? She had been supportive of her all the way but with this step… Harley pushed the thoughts from her head as she headed up the staircase to the apartment and sighed. This was going to be hard apple to chew through… an apple made out of concrete.

She slowly went up the stairs as lead filled her shoes as she neared the apartment door. Maybe she was lucky and Selina was still busy at work. Maybe pulling off some big caper or something… as she opened the door and the smell of fish welcomed her… she knew she was out of luck. Still, she tried her best to sneak in softly closing the door behind her as she snuck in and tried to get into her room. Still not spotted, I can make this, I can do this… "Hello Harley…"

Harley froze up right away as she slowly turned to look at the woman dressed in black leather sitting across the table she tried to sneak past by. "You're home early!" Harley said cheerfully as she smiled hiding now the hammer behind her back hoping that she didn't at least see that already. Of course, the make-up and the outfit were giving away enough by now. Selina just sighed and shook her head. "So… decided to give into the madness again?" she asked as Harley looked down knowing she would get a scolding.

"It's just… all this normal life…" Harley said as she looked at Selina as she smiled at her. "I mean… it's boring… it's driven me completely bonkers… in the other way speaking." she said with a slight laugh before noting that Selina wasn't laughing. "I mean, it just wasn't me… it was maybe me once some time ago… but I think that this is who I am right now, a criminal. We can't make it nicer then it isn't." she said as she now sat down across from Selina who looked at Harley and shook her head.

"I should be angry..." Selina said as Harley was starting to expect an anger outburst… but it still didn't happen. "I knew somewhere that this would happen." she said softly as she looked at Harley with sad eyes making Harley's stomach turn inside out. "Maybe I was just once more foolishly hoping. What with Bat… Bruce gone… I thought perhaps I could make things different on my terms and my way. But I just knew this would eventually happen. I just didn't know when."

It wasn't completely fair Harley thought. She just as much had given into her old habits and traits. Just cause she used them to make a living out of the two of them and she just did it for fun… well… there was something to say about it but stealing was still stealing, Harley thought as she frowned wanting to point out to Selina that she was just as much in the wrong here, just that her wrong was a different kind of wrong than hers.

"Look… kitty…" Harley began as Selina held up her hand. "I already heard what happened. They already questioned Oswald already and the report of your car accident with the commissioner. When you get back you really needed to just go all out there don't you?" she asked with a slight smile as she sighed again. "I'm sorry… perhaps I should be happy for you, but I just… can't. I just feel this as a personal loss to myself again."

There was a silence between the two as Harley didn't know what to say or what to do and Selina just didn't want to further drill a guilty feeling into Harley. Finally after some time Harley finally managed a small smile and then threw the hammer onto the table nearly breaking it in two as well through the sheer force she used. "Well… if it makes anything at least better… this thing just really is much better than my old bat." she said trying her best to make light of things.

Selina looked at the hammer interested right away. It was a diversion from Harley, that she knew but by now she would take anything to at least stop thinking about it for a moment. Studying the hammer carefully, Selina noted that this wasn't like any weapon she had ever seen before. Certainly her crazy roommate couldn't have made it herself. She was crafty and skilled in… certain places. This wasn't one of her skills.

"Who gave it to you?" she finally asked as Harley still smiled glad that they could at least change the subject a bit. "The guy I took along for a ride in Gotham tonight." she said as this finally led the cat burglar somewhere. Was this some kind of Joker impersonator, someone that just wanted to make use again of Harley for his own interests? Well, he had nerves that she had to admit as she got up from her chair and walked over to Harley.

"What did he do?" she asked as she stared rather intensely as Harley felt like a very small girl all of a sudden. That moment only lasted a fleeting second as she realized… she didn't need to take Catwoman's crap… ehm… Selina's crap. She was a grown woman who knew what choices she could make. That was what she was and that was what she had to just accept and live with… at least that was what Harley thought again as the opposite was more so the truth of the matter here.

"Look kitty, I understand your concern but nothing happened. Didn't get pulled any strings, didn't fall in love, didn't get dumped in a vat of acid or get tubes of venom stuck in my brain… nothing's wrong with me. I just wanted to have fun again!" Harley said as she grabbed the hammer from the table and next kicked her feet up the table as Selina sighed and then shook her head. "Well, I guess I will have to welcome Harley Quinn back home then."

For Harley… it was kind of weird to have said that as it just reinforced how much abuse she went through and how much she had promised to herself that would never happen again. Just let Torchwick try and she would snap his hat in two and crush his cane into a pulp… or do that the other way around. She did understand Catwoman's worries in this case. She understood them all too well for her own good.

Just thinking about it was already something Harley didn't enjoy to do anymore. The countless times he slapped her just because she said something… the times he kicked her for making a joke… that one time he pulled a gun at whilst claiming he loved her and for that she had to die… a hearts topper he called it. Shivering, she quickly pushed the thoughts from her mind and smiled again. Never again will I be abused, not in this lifetime at least.

Selina had honestly hoped that she didn't need to say that. It would have been a big step for her friend. A true letting go of Joker, something that Ivy had always wanted for her. Even if she and Red weren't on the best of terms she still cared very much so about her that she had tried to steer Harley on the right path and as far away from Joker thinking. In the very beginning that was very hard but after time she finally began to forget him.

In truth she was more afraid that Harley was now going to relapse, falling back into a cantankerous habit of adoring a mass murdering psychopath and calling him her Puddin'. If the guy she was running around with had known to press those buttons she just had to make sure. "So… you're sure. This is all your own free will?" she asked curiously as she just had to know that last bit to know that everything was fine… or at least as fine as things could be for now.

"Yeah, don't get your cat tail in a knot." Harley said as she got up as well holding her hammer in one hand as she looked at Catwoman. "Look, the guy I'm running with… he's not my type. Probably, I will never really find my type anyway since he's burned to a crisp and what remained of him is buried six feet into the ground." she said as she turned to look away from her roommate. That last part came out a bit harsher as it was something Harley really didn't want to be reminded of again.

"Alright, I just needed to know." Selina said with a slight smile as she finally nodded to Harley. It was at least good to know that it wasn't a relapse… or a relapse that made no sense but then again, this was Harley she was talking about. Finally Harley dropped her weapon and hugged her tightly as she closed her eyes. "I'm sorry… I know you didn't want this…" she said softly as Catwoman just hugged her back with a slight smile.

"I know you didn't do it on purpose and I knew this would eventually happen." she said as she softly patted Harley on her back hoping to calm her down before she would start her waterworks and make this all even more emotional than was needed. "I'm just glad you're not falling into another pit that we can't save you from… and keep repeatedly falling into it to make things worse." she said with a slight grin.

"HEY! I wanted to have a moment." Harley said as she laughed softly, tears softly flowing from her cheeks as she hugged Catwoman only tighter. She was very happy she at least understood the case and that she wasn't mad… or at least not mad right now. "Thanks kitty, happy to know you still got my back." Harley said as Selina smirked. "Well, if I didn't have it, who was going to save it again?" she teased again as Harley giggled. Things would turn out alright after all…

The night was slowly coming to an end. Most of the night life of Gotham had already died out as in only a few more hours the first sign of daybreak would be visible. To say the first sunrays would hit Gotham would be a blatant lie. The sun seldom was seen in the city. Mostly being shielded and blotted out by the giant buildings reaching for the sky, it was hidden behind a veil of toxic clouds and fumes of several companies.

The worst one, Ace Chemicals had funnily enough been blown apart last Halloween when Scarecrow attempted to use it to create his ultimate fear bomb. Still, enough other companies remained to fill the night sky even now with poisonous gas that would make the stars disappear behind a black screen. The only light that was truly visible in Gotham were the neon colors of many signs that invited you for many different things, from entertainment to sports event and strip clubs.

Even then Gotham had enough dark streets and corners in which the lower sections of the city gathered for the more unsavory business. Usually these criminals still waited for those fancy pants stupid enough to set foot in these streets and conduct their 'business' with them. Such things were slowly starting to die out as more and more criminals heard of a creature that was known to send their victims into a state of complete panic.

Still, enough others still remained carving out new territories. Slowly the gang war once more started to pick up between the gangsters of Gotham as Penguin and Two-Face once more started to vie over who was truly the boss of the city. Both had lost a lot after the final night but they had wasted all their sources to get back on the top… and now were looking for a way to permanently stay there. Recruiting went all over and other faces they deemed below them were taken in to work for them.

And in those shadows a new threat arose for these criminals. For the death of the bat had left a much bigger threat in its wake. The first of the uprising gangsters had been taken out by him as left over henchmen from Black Mask could tell you… he was named the Red Hood… and this night he was out again as the banging of guns was audible through the street, one of the many famous dark streets of Gotham that was now heavily being contested.

Shots were fired between several criminals as their gang leader Ricky "Loose Lips" Leblanc shouted at them to keep firing at this stupid idiot who had dared to take them on in a fight. The Red Hood however only quipped back that if Loose Lips was really that loose he would just do him a favor… and rip his lips off for him. The firing went on and on but slowly the amount of goons that Ricky could count on started to dwindle as he looked in panic at what his next move should be.

"Alright freak, if you want a stand-off, I'm your man!" Ricky shouted as Red Hood smirked to himself under his helmet. 'Too easy.' he thought to himself as he got up and brought his twin pistols up. "Black Mask made the same mistake as you did." he said calmly as he eyed the criminal as he grinned under his mask now. Ricky was hardly worth the effort but it would get another criminal off the street once there was a bullet inside that brain of his.

"Like I care, Black Mask had what was coming to him for years. I just have to make a living!" Ricky replied as he held a machine gun in his hands and pointed it at Red Hood. He was in fact scared for his life. The other thugs he had taken under him had already fled or were dead. Ricky lamented just all of his bad luck. First the Batman dropping in several times on him, then his freaking kids stopping him… and now this guy that thought he was doing the city a favor by killing everyone inside it.

With Batman's death, Ricky had seen his chance to rise through the ranks of being a small time crook to a gang leader himself. He just needed the supports from lower life thugs, the guns he still knew Penguin stored around town and a way to get those distributed around town. It had taken him a while but he finally got that operation up… tonight. Right at the moment they started loading this lunatic with what looked like a red helmet on his face dropped in and started shooting at them. If he wanted these guns… he had something coming at him.

Still he had just taken out a large portion of his goons again. No worries, he could just as easily replace those and he would punish those that had ran away and left him alone to deal with this. Even though he had a superior weapon, the Red Hood didn't move an inch. It was as if he wanted Ricky to start shooting at him. "You can make a very good living in hell as well… just ask Joker." Red Hood said as he now pointed one of his guns at Ricky.

At that same moment the criminal opened fire on the vigilante as the next thing that happened only took a few seconds. As the bullets soared past the Red Hood he pointed his gun right at Loose Lips and out from it came a long rope with a hook on it. As it shot forward, the hook embedded itself in the gun wielding criminal as he gritted his lips. Only a flesh wound, nothing to worry about. That was when the gun started to pull in the rope and the Red Hood came rushing towards him.

Before Ricky could throw the gun away and get ready for close combat the first punch in his face was already dealt as the vigilante hit him with the blunt side of his pistol. The next punch came to his side as finally Ricky had thrown his gun to the ground and hit the Red Hood right on his helmet. His hand ached and felt like it had it a metal wall as he tried to punch him now in his stomach. The crazy murdering "hero" was faster and evaded his punch and instead kicked Loose Lips in his gut.

"I already told you that Black Mask stood no chance. Why did you think you did?" Red Hood asked as he next kicked his opponent against his head as Ricky fell down, the whole world spinning around his eyes as he tried to focus again. Trying to get his grip on something he wanted to climb up but again the Hood was faster and kicked him down again. "I'll tell you why. Because you got shit for brains!" he proclaimed as he pointed his gun now right into Ricky's face.

"Please, there's no need for this. I got guns. You saw them. I can give them to you. You never have to run out of ammo. You can get whatever you need and when you need it!" Ricky began as the Red Hood sighed and shook his head, again with the pleading. Let these criminals do whatever they like and they will never show regret but put a gun to their head and they will not know how quick they need to lick your heels.

"You know, you can take your begs and your cries for mercy and shove them up your ass!" Red Hood said as he next shot Ricky right between his eyes. Looking down he saw the criminal stare in disbelief at him as if he couldn't believe he just shot him down. That was the expression he would die with tonight as well as the Red Hood lifted the helmet from his face to strike his hair back and sigh. "Stupid idiot." Jason Todd said as he smirked to himself.

He looked over the helmet as his thought wandered to that last night… that night he had tried to kill his former mentor and father… Bruce. He had in return only sought to give him what he had missed for so many years… compassion and warmth… it reminded him of the good times… and it reminded him where his true anger and hatred lied. Not with Batman but every other scumbag of Gotham that needed to be taught a lesson. With Batman gone though… he felt he needed to make things right.

And he didn't put Black Mask down or he heard something that was of great interest to him. Harley Quinn had apparently returned from her retirement. He had personally hoped for that already. That clown bitch was part of the problem of who he had become… she knew what he had become… She had assisted the Joker into sufficiently breaking him. True, she hadn't put him through any torture but still, she knew of it and had never even once tried to speak up for him.

Putting his helmet back on a smile formed on his face. That clown was the only remnant of Joker that was still alive outside of him. But he was already a force that wasn't bothering to go down a criminal route… he was instead looking to exterminate each and every last one of them. But with Quinn hopping around town again and possibly with accomplices they were the first on his hit list to take out. He was smiling… because killing her would be the closest thing that he could call… revenge.

Harley had left the apartment as she had tossed a few times in her thrown over bed before deciding… she didn't want to sleep in that anymore. The realization came a bit late perhaps but Harley was actually rather pooped from all that had happened and her little talk with Catwoman hadn't done her any favors. Still, as she had left she made sure to keep very silent as to not wake up her kitten. She deserved that rest above anyone else.

It was nearing four in the morning as Harley had decided that she could at least use one good drink before she would crash down again in her bed. With a mind filled with alcohol and her problems pushed far enough away again it would do miracles for her. Finding a bar that was open at this time would have been hard if it weren't for the fact that it was Gotham and nearly every bar in the city would be open for 24 hours a day.

Making her way through the slowly awakening city from its night life she hit the very first bar she could find that just so happened to be a small club called The Last Chance café. She usually drank here with Selina a drink after she celebrated certain thefts. A bit of trying to get Harley in a better mood that usually ended with Harley being drunk and starting a bar fight with the two having to retreat again.

Right now, Harley was in that same mood again as she wanted nothing more than to get drunk, get some unneeded but fun destruction out of the way and hop back into bed with a happy smile until next night would hit her again. As she walked in she saw the bar was completely empty outside of the bartender who smirked seeing Harley getting in. "Sorry miss Quinzel, folks left early tonight so no reason to start picking a fight."

"You can just start calling me Harley. Miss Quinzel took a train to out of here and isn't bound to return anytime soon." Harley said with a smile as the bartender shook his head. She had literally nearly punched his head in for calling her Harley… and now she insisted on being called that again. Well, the girl was insane after all, he didn't mind it and if she was going to pay for a difference instead of cause chaos he was all too happy to oblige.

"So… Senior…" Harley said as she smiled sitting at the bar as she held out her hand. "One time the usual please." she said as he nodded and went to work on her drink as she looked around with a sigh. There was absolutely no one she could pick a fight with before hitting the sack as she looked at the tender again. "How's your kid doing?" she asked as the bartender only looked up and sighed not wanting to talk about it.

As luck… or bad luck would have it for him he didn't need to. Another person came in as evidenced by the tinkling bell as Harley could hear she was sitting next of her. She could feel the long hair of the other person sticking into her side… it felt amazingly soft though. "Yo, bartender, one sunrise with a parasol please." she heard a familiar voice say… as she slowly turned to look at who sat next to her and stared in the big smirking face of Yang. "Hi there, nice to run into you again of all people."


	4. PUNch out

Harley felt her heart punching into her throat after it jumpstarted again. Of all people in the entire world, of the entire city of Gotham, that could have been awake, that could have walked into this bar… it just had to be her. Harley cursed her luck as Yang gave her a small smile as the bartender went to work on her drink. Harley didn't know how to react. Should she pull a punch, should she run out whilst she still could… or just stay and see what happen?

As nervous as Harley was, Yang was as calm as a smooth sailing river as she sat onto the bar right next to Harley. She had really not expected to run into her again in the same night but… well, fate has that weird way of making things happen. The bartender just looked at her and just shook his head. "Aren't you a little young to be here at this time of night?" he asked her as Yang gave him a grin as a first reply.

"Aren't you a little young to be called Senior?"

"You know Blondie, that's not my real name. Just the name Harleen… I mean Harley gave me." Senior replied as he put the drink of Yang on the bar and next looked back at Harley. "Is everything alright? You look like you seen a ghost." he said as Harley looked at him and just did her best to relax and gave a nod.

"I'm just peachy. As fine as I can be in my nutshell." she said as she grinned and looked at Yang. "Give me the strongest you got… I'm going to need it."

"So… what have you been up to?" Yang asked as she smiled at Harley as the clown just thought… that was a bit strange.

"What? Don't you need to beat me up already?" Harley asked as Yang suppressed a small giggle at that.

"If you insist on it." she said as she cracked one of her knuckles. "I just figured you haven't done anything wrong now… so I have no reason to start punching you around." she said as Harley just kept up her vigil… but somehow she thought that Yang wasn't joking with her.

"Well… I had to get a new weapon." Harley said as she felt a glass with liquid pressed against her as she smiled at Senior grabbing the glass and looked at it. "Cause you broke the last one." she continued as Yang gave a shrug.

"I warned you, but you didn't want to listen." she said as Harley took a sip from her glass. The liquid burned inside her as she felt herself jumping up wide awake. You never knew when you needed that with someone that could punch you to Metropolis in just a heartbeat.

Yang for her part seemed far more relaxed. Probably because she knew she could easily take out Harley… but she had already spent a good deal of her Aura on her. Whilst she could tank just a bit more, if Harley had gotten a new weapon from Roman… chances were she was a better opponent this time around. It would make things far more interesting, that was what Yang thought at the very least. She was wary… but she was also confident that she could still handle things if they would get ugly.

"Well… I guess you did." Harley said with a shrug as well as she looked forward again. "And what have you been doing?" she asked Yang as the girl just as much turned to look in front of her.

"I've been looking for someone… no luck so far despite a source confirming she was last spotted here… or somewhere around here…" Yang said as she sighed and shook her head. "I spent the entire night looking for info but so far no dice."

This sort of got Harley's attention as Yang pulled her scroll out of her pocket and looked at Senior. "Well, if you don't try…" Yang said as she smiled as Senior looked over interested as well what the girl was going to ask. She showed him a picture of a woman, with long raven black hair, eyes as red as blood and a costume that just as much was red and black at the same time.

"Never seen her… but perhaps Harley knows." He suggested… if only he knew what he was getting himself into.

Yang gave a nod as she turned to look at Harley. There was… a spark of hope in her amethyst eyes. Hope that perhaps she was lucky. Harley did have a red and black pattern after all… she could have just picked that up from a mentor person or the likes.

If not there was a good chance that Harley could know her. She had been around in Gotham much longer than her and if her mom had been around and about in Gotham as well… there was just a slight chance she could have spotted her.

It was a long shot but one she had to try out. "Well, no clowning around here. Have you seen this woman?" Yang asked as she held out her scroll to Harley.

Harley gave a look at it as she studies the person on the picture with close detail. Apart from the hair… and perhaps the eyes… she was just exactly like the person in the picture. The same long hair, the same happy grin, the same eyes color red… This was probably her mom… it got Harley thinking as she smirked slightly to Yang. "Tell you what, if you apologize for punching my tooth out and breaking my weapon… I'll tell you all I know!" Harley said with a confident smile as she looked at Yang as she frowned.

"What?! You were the one starting it!" she protested right away as Harley laughed slightly. This reaction was priceless. If only she had a camera to record it… wait a minute…

Harley got her phone out and held it up in front of Yang as she grinned. "I'm offering a one-time deal here." she said as she held her finger on the record button.

"You're crazy." Yang said as she shook her head knowing that she had to do it… if there was even a slight chance she knew her mother…

"Alright… I'm sorry for punching your teeth out." Yang said as she crossed her arms and looked more annoyed than anything else for being talked into this.

"And?" Harley asked as she was trying not to laugh as she was recording the entire thing.

"And I am sorry for breaking your bat."

"And?"

"There's more?" Yang asked as she threw her hands up in the air and groaned. "I apologized for what you wanted me to apologize!" she said as Harley now started to laugh.

"You just have to admit I'm more awesome than you in every single way."

Yang was now getting more and more fed up with her as she wanted to grab the phone out of Harley's hands but with all of her willpower she stayed calm as she bit her lip. "You're more awesome than me in every way." She gritted through her teeth as Harley nearly fell off her chair from laughing as she pocketed her phone.

"Priceless, that look on your face." Harley said as she grabbed her drink and threw it all the way in. She knew she was in trouble now.

"Sorry, I don't know a single thing." Harley said with a big grin to Yang. "I just stringed you like a puppet and tell you I'm better than you!" she said as she now did roll off her chair.

Yang on the other hand rolled her eyes. The moment that last bit was added she knew she was being played at. Well, she could have guessed from the get go… but she was hopeful that Harley had a shred of honesty inside of her.

Harley climbed back onto her chair as she had big goofy grin on her face. "Heh, that should get you all steamed up, like you would want to fight me." she said as she was regretting her choice of words right after that.

"Well… I got to hand it to you." Yang said calmly as she smiled now as she looked at Harley and next she punched her right in the face as Harley flew into a wall. "So I guess I will show you my handiwork now." Yang said with a smile. It was time to lay the smack down and prove she was a better jokester as well right at the same time.

"Hope you don't mind the redecoration?" Yang asked Senior as he just shook his head. It was better not to upset this one…

Harley slowly got back up as she rubbed her face. She grabbed the hammer that she had carried around on her back as she smiled. "Round 2?" she asked Yang as the blonde grinned and then punched her knuckles together creating a small explosion that caused her long blonde hair to fly up.

"I think it's not really a round 2 when we know how it's going to end." Yang said confidently as Harley then ran up to her… and her hammer slammed into Yang's stomach.

Yang had to admit she didn't see that coming. Already her Aura was starting to get weaker… but this only made sure she could punch Harley next time and right away put her down and out.

"Alright, you're done clowning now!" Yang said as she smiled as she punched the ground instead, releasing her strength and causing a shockwave, throwing Harley off her feet. Harley's hand however grabbed the bar as she managed to pull herself back up right away and next grabbed the sunrise of Yang.

Before Yang knew it, the liquid of the Sunrise was thrown right at her as she blinked hoping it didn't get into her eyes. It left her wide open as Harley now swung her hammer into Yang's side as she laughed.

"Eyes on the prize Blondie!" she said with a smirk as she swung her hammer again, this time it hit Yang right against her head as she tumbled down now. Harley had time to rest up and was used on getting kicked around… more so than Yang as she quickly got back up on her feet.

"If you want to fight dirty…" Yang said as she next ripped out a floor board and grinned holding it up in her hands before throwing it at Harley. The clown just managed to duck right out of the way… the bartender was less lucky as the floorboard hit him right in his face.

"I will make the ground move!" Yang said pulling the next chunk out from it and threw it once more at Harley as she now dodged once more before the blonde fired herself at her right now.

"It's time to send you with the air mail." Yang said as she punched right through the wall as she and Harley now went flying onto the street. Harley skidded forward as she felt bones aching but still pressed herself back up.

"Sorry, but I'm not going offline for now." she said as she grinned as she brought her hammer back up to slam it at Yang, the blonde this time dodging around it and throwing a punch at Harley who just as well ducked under it.

"I'm going to hammer it into your head I'm better than you!" Harley said as she laughed her hammer once more slamming onto Yang but the girl managed to block it this time with her fist as her other fist punched right into her stomach.

"You're hard to stomach." Yang said with a happy smile just as well… but making sure that the punch wasn't going to be too hard this time. It still took the breath out of Harley but instead of sending her packing again, it only made her wobble on her legs again.

It just as much surprised Harley but she quickly found her breath again as she now kicked against Yang's shins sweeping the girl off her feet. "Time to sweep you off your feet." was the most logical pun she could make at that. Yang however once more caught herself before falling down as she laughed.

"Sorry, you're not going to clean the house here." she quipped right back as now hammer and knuckle met each other trying to outdo each other.

Yang knew that if that swing got to her, her Aura wouldn't last anymore. At the same time Harley knew that if Yang got to lay that smack down on her she was going nighty night again as the two stared at each other, pressing all their strength into their last bit… neither willing to surrender to the other but both with big smiles looking at each other. To the two of them… it was more a fun fight then anything serious.

Finally the punch and swing of the hammer went through… as they completely missed each other. Yang's punch slammed right into the asphalt next of Harley as the hammer thudded onto it, causing the clown girl to shake from the impact of it. Both looked once more at each other before suddenly Yang grabbed Harley into a headlock and smirked.

"Say I'm better… or you're getting a noogie!" she said holding Harley in a vicious grip.

Harley squirmed fanatically trying to get out from the tight grip of the busty brawler as she flailed and tried to punch Yang… before deciding another tactic.

"Alright, alright… I confess… I rather do this with wet fingers." she said as she stuck her finger now in Yang's ear as the girl in surprise let the clown go. Before Harley could grab her hammer, Yang jumped right at her as they rolled onto the road, before finally Yang pressed Harley down.

"Heh, the good guys are always on top of things!" she proclaimed with a smirk as she held Harley down. The clown still squirmed like mad before finally deciding it was better to admit defeat again.

"Alright… you're better… and I will go quietly to jail with you." she said as Yang grinned before frowning.

"Jail? I think you got enough punishment for one night." she said as she got up and stood victorious for a moment above Harley. "I'm just going to enjoy that confession of yours. Shame I didn't record it…" she said before smiling again.

"Aw… nuts." Harley proclaimed as she still lay on the street as she stared up at the slowly turning gray sky as she looked back as a scroll was now held right in front of her face.

"I'm waiting." Yang said with a big smile as Harley groaned but admitted to it.

"You're the best… you defeated me in an honest, dishonest way." she said as Yang grinned keeping Harley down however.

"And?" she asked as Harley sighed thinking of something else up.

"And… your hair is very nice…" Harley said as she smiled looking up to Yang as the blonde laughed now letting Harley go and pocketed her scroll away.

"Alright, that will do it." she said with a smile as she extended her hand and when Harley took it she pulled her back up.

"Got to say, if you keep this up you might beat me… in ten years." Yang said as she grinned now softly punching Harley against her shoulder as the clown groaned and shook her head.

"Very funny." she said as she plummeted back onto the street but instead sat down on it and patted the spot next of her. "Come on, celebrate your big victory then." she said as well with a smile as Yang now nodded and sat next of Harley.

As they sat next to each other suddenly the thought of why they even had started their small brawl crept back into Harley's mind and she grew rather curious about why Yang wanted to find her mom.

"So… your mom huh?" Harley began right away changing the subject as Yang gave a sigh.

"Yeah… it's quite a story." Yang began as she looked at Harley who gave a nod for her to go on. "My dad and my mom… I really don't know what happened between the two… I just know that one day she just vanished into thin air… dad never went after her as soon as he got together with my sister's mom." Yang explained as she took a moment to swallow.

"After that he lost her as well and he was too broken to do anything. I thought maybe if mom came back… maybe things could be alright. So I've set out to look for her… and instead found trouble." she continued omitting parts as to not further confuse Harley with her knowledge of Grimm and such.

"My uncle has been training me to get ready and he also told me that she was last spotted here. I thought someone had seen her around but… no luck so far." she said with a sad sigh as she looked at Harley quickly smiling again. "Though I'm glad you provide some good distraction again. It keeps me from dwelling too much on it. That's the last thing that I want."

Harley was silent for a moment. Her search for her mom… it sounded sadder than she had thought as she smiled as well at Yang. "Heh, well you're not the only one with problems like that." Harley said as she looked back at her hammer and sighed as well.

"I got enough problems just as well." she said as Yang looked a bit confused at her. It sounded strange to her to hear Harley had problems as well. She always was smiling and cheering and even getting beaten around she took in stride as the two looked at each other.

"You got a place to crash at?" Harley suddenly asked as she broke up the silence between the two as Yang shook her head.

"I do… some backwater place but it'll do for now." she said as she smiled knowing that Harley was probably offering a place to stay at…

That was just weird but… it felt like something Harley would do, offering a place to crash at to the girl that had floored her not once but twice by now. Yang was far too happy to get a good couch or bed to sleep on then having to sleep into a bed that was probably going to collapse the moment she turned around in it. Even so, she didn't think she could take up Harley's offer for that. As kind as it was… it felt too wrong for her.

Harley however didn't get a chance to say anything as when Yang looked at Harley she spotted a red laser light on her. Without thinking, she pushed Harley down onto the ground as the next thing a bullet hit the ground only inches away from Harley's hair.

"What the hell?" Harley yelled as she got up rather quickly looking up from where the bullet had been fired, seeing the sniper right away. Someone wearing a red helmet… and he was already aiming again for her.

Yang still acted far quicker than Harley as she grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her aside as the next bullet was fired. Harley could feel it searing past her arm this time as she gasped and looked at Yang who only gave her a nod as the two made a run for it.

"Friend of yours?" Yang asked as she looked back at Harley who was running beside her as she fidgeted around with her hammer to get it into a gun mode.

"Friends of mine don't regularly shoot at me." she replied only as once she got the gun mode finally around she opened fire onto the sniper as she loosened a few shots hoping that they would hit him. The problem was that she was running and thus her aim was not getting much better as she cursed under her breath at her bad luck.

The sniper feverishly followed behind the two girls but only seemed to be targeting Harley. Strange, Yang thought, why Harley in particular? She wasn't a big named crook in this town, so why did this man target her? Was it to prevent she was going to be a big name criminal again? Yang had a ton of questions by now ready to fire at Harley but she had to make sure first that her friend would survive. Friend… that was the first time Yang thought of Harley that way. Sure, they started out on bad footing but… she didn't mean that bad again.

Harley however every now and then again turned around during running to get a shot fired at the gunner. She didn't know who the hell it was, but she did know that she wasn't going down without a fight at the very least.

"If you got guts you come down here and face me like any proper vigilante in this city!" Harley yelled up at the sniper as he just ignored her keeping her in his sights. Maybe it was better to actually pull a shot on her legs instead and then put one between her eyes. Just to get her to suffer a bit more, like he had before at Joker's hands.

The shot rang through as Harley yelled in pain as she slumped right onto the ground. Got me right in my leg that son of a bitch, Harley thought to herself as she looked up at Yang.

"Just make a go for it." she said as she held her leg in pain. "I'll catch up eventually."

The last part was a flat out lie but she just wanted Yang to get the hell out of here. If she didn't need to get involved the better it was for her. She did find it sad that she wasn't even a day back and already she was going to die. It had something ironic… all those years nothing happened and the first moment she got back in the saddle she gets a bullet in her leg. It had something funny… at least going out on a joke was something good.

Yang on the other hand was much quicker grabbing Harley and pulling her up trying to keep up a steady pace. "I'm not going to live with myself if I let you die." she said as she smiled slightly as she put Harley's arm over her shoulders and kept her up.

Just trying to walk already like that hurt a lot as Harley tried to keep going but gritted her teeth every time. But she knew a place they could hide… if their killer didn't have a good head on his shoulders and figured that out already.

Thankfully not every vigilante could be a Batman…

As they ran together Yang felt a bullet pressing into her back. She groaned in pain as she felt her Aura giving out right at that moment. It would leave a bruise on that spot but she would live with it. She knew that with helping Harley she had made a target of herself as well. But she wasn't going to let Harley just die. That wasn't in her nature.

"Take a right here." Harley said as she looked at Yang who gave a nod as they dove into another alley with no street lights in it.

Red Hood fumed as he saw the girls disappear into the dark. He would have to adept just as much to it. He had learned enough about the dark from his old man. He could just as much use it. If they thought they were safe in it, they had another thing coming to them.

Dropping into the alley the Red Hood scanned around, having traded in his sniper now for two smaller guns. They formed together the sniper rifle as he had designed and created the gun himself. Walking down into the alley he scanned around in the dark. He kept his breath low enough to make sure that they would only hear his footsteps.

He just as much enjoyed putting fear in his targets as he walked through the alley… but he couldn't find a single trace of Harley or the other blonde. Stupid bitch shouldn't have gotten herself involved in it. Why did she want to save Harley? Was it just because it was a noble thing to do? Even without his mentor around there were still people around that seemed to care about these freaks and criminals.

As he kept walking he half expected the two to suddenly drop out of the darkness and tackle him down… but they still didn't come up. As he now walked out of the alley he turned around. They couldn't have fled… they were still around there somewhere. He knew they were there.

He wasn't wrong. Harley had remembered that the alley had a hiding spot that Joker had previously used once to outwit Batman. Using her as his decoy he told her to run ahead and he would catch up. The truth was that there was a small hole in the ground that was covered up. The hole was actually only big enough for one person and thus Harley and Yang sat rather cramped together… and with a bullet through Harley's leg it wasn't the most comfortable way of sitting there together.

Hearing the sniper passing over them again the girls kept their breaths in hoping he couldn't spot them. Before, the Red Hood might have been able to spot them but since he now relied mostly on brute force and strength he had dropped all the detective gear in the progress… and thus he didn't know that he had stepped over the girls not once, but twice already.

Red Hood just took another glance as he wanted to wait for the girls to come out of their hiding spot but he knew dawn was approaching now. Cursing his own bad luck at not killing Quinn when he had the chance, he fired one of his guns as a rope shot out from it. Speeding up along the rope he vanished once more out of sight.

"I think he's gone." Yang said after a few minutes of silence as Harley looked up and began to push the plate away that Red Hood had walked over twice.

"Wow… glad that my insane luck in survival kicked in." Harley said with a slight grin as she hoisted herself up as she sat on the ground before helping Yang out of the hole.

"You know… you should have just left me there." Harley said as she and Yang once more sat together before the open hole now as Yang frowned looking at her.

"I'm not like that. I think that despite the fact you're a rotten apple… you got a healthy core inside of you." Yang said as she now slowly got up all the way. Her back hurt rather badly from the bullet that had bounced off from it. She was just lucky that her Aura only gave way right at that moment but still… she didn't think she had to push it that far.

"Besides… it's not in me to leave people to die." Yang said as she smiled slightly and helped Harley back up and once more wrapped her arm around her neck so she could lean on her.

"Thanks… it's… it's a first in a long time that someone did that for me." she said as the only one she could remember saving her from trouble was in fact Batman. Mostly because the Dork Knight never wanted to let someone die but in most cases Harley was rather happy with it.

The many times that Batman saved her from Joker who had a gun pointed at her head to hold her 'hostage' was when she hated him… but then at other times when Harley was left to her fate and Batman did step in… well, she praised him again for being like that and thought that perhaps she had made wrong decisions… thoughts that were quickly pushed back into her head.

"It's what good people do." Yang said as she smiled carrying Harley around as she felt herself getting rather weary right now. What she wouldn't give for a bed… it was right at that moment she smiled at Harley.

"Say… you wouldn't mind if I would take up your offer right now huh?" she asked as Harley looked at her with a questioning look before realizing what Yang meant.

"Oh that… well, I didn't think I got a chance to ask it again." Harley said with a grin as she gave a nod at Yang. "I don't mind it. You can crash in at my place." she said. She would have to do some explaining again later to Catwoman again… but that could come later indeed.

Under Harley's instructions the two finally got to the apartment before the first people went out to work again. The streets would soon grow busy again with the 'normal' people of Gotham. They would go around their daily base and no one would make any remarks on what happened last night again.

Not that the two girls cared again. They were tired out of their minds. They had been up the entire night, going from one place to the next and having fought each other two times. Harley had a bullet in her leg and Yang was pretty much spent. The fact that no one cared what they had been through was something they could care even less about.

At the moment they opened the door of the apartment Selina was already up and about as she looked surprised to see Harley come in, being held up by another girl.

"Harley! Where have you been?" she asked right away before the smell of strong alcoholic drinks filled the room. "Ah, never mind." she said as she smiled slightly.

"Hey kitty… I wanted to only go out for a late drink and come back… but then I ran into Blondie here and we got chased around by a mysterious guy that wanted to kill me and he shot me in my leg and I'm too tired to explain even more." Harley said as she followed this up with a giant yawn.

Catwoman laughed as she gave a nod taking Harley from Yang and getting her to her bed. "Sounds like you need a bit of rest." she said before she helped Harley into it… which wasn't easy as the bed was still turned in an uncomfortable way.

"Hey… kitty… you don't mind if Blondie also crashes in for now with us… right?" Harley asked as she looked with sleepy eyes at Selina as she sighed and shook her head.

"You're really asking a lot from me… but since she's your friend she can stay for now until she gets a place on her own." she said as she smiled giving Harley a soft stroke through her hair in a motherly way.

"Thanks kitty… you're the best…" was all that Harley could still muster before her eyes slumped to a close and the next thing a rather loud snore left her mouth.

Catwoman grinned as she quickly got up and closed the door to Harley's bedroom. She wasn't going to be up for the next few hours or so. Probably it would take till next night for her to get up again. Well, she needed it… and a doctor as well. That bullet wasn't going to remove itself again.

It was right at that moment she spotted Yang, lying on the couch, passed out from the entire night just as well that she felt she needed to suppress a giggle.

"Oh dear… I do believe I got two of them now." she said as Yang just as much soundly snored her cares away. "Well, at least they seemed to have fun together… and she's better company for Harley." she mused to herself as she went down to snatch a milk bottle from the neighbors.

As dawn had come, everyone in Gotham was busy getting to work or already being at work again. The streets hadn't died down even for one minute and most of the people that were out last night were also out again today at the crack of dawn.

One person had also not gone back to sleep as he was now hastily trying to repair all the damage two very violent blondes had committed in his bar. Once a small little beauty, it was now ruined with a hole in the wall and the floorboards having been ripped apart.

Why, why did they need to do this to him? Why to his family? His poor son also had the unfortunate luck of running into a violent Blonde that pretty much spelled the end of his night club for the moment… and after that hardly anyone came by anymore to spend another night at it.

Blondes… they were the bane of his family… but now he knew what Junior had gone through… and now Senior faced the same results, being closed because of rampaging blondes.


End file.
